Legacy
"Legacy" is the fifty-third and fifty-fourth episode of . It depicts Darkseid brainwashing Superman into thinking that he was brought to Apokolips instead of Earth, turning him into a tool to conquer the universe. However, when Superman reaches Earth, his memories start to return and he is defeated. Now branded a traitor and distrusted by the world at large, Superman must escape from prison and end Darkseid's designs once and for all. This is the final episode in the series. Plot Part I Out on an unnamed planet, a race of aliens desperately fights an army of Apokoliptian soldiers. At first it seems that they have won, as the army has stopped its advance, but then a lone soldier bursts into the ceiling of the palace throne room. All attempts to stop him are futile and the king of the planet, seeing that his forces have been defeated, hands over his scepter: his symbol of power. The soldier returns to Darkseid and removes his mask. It's revealed that this soldier is Superman. Darkseid calls Superman his son and tells him that as a reward for defeating the alien world, he'll get his own planet to rule: Earth. Back in Metropolis, Superman flies over the city while Lois and Clark watch from the ground. It's then revealed that both Superman and Clark are robots controlled by Supergirl. No one knows where Superman has gone, not even Supergirl or his earth parents. On Apokolips, Kal-El flies over and is attacked by the people of the planet. He is then attacked by Superman who eventually destroys him. Kal-El awakens, and Lashina urges him to go to Granny Goodness for "therapy." Granny puts him into a chair that places memories into his mind. His origin is the same, except Kal-El landed on Apokolips and was raised by Darkseid. Darkseid is supposedly benevolent and wants only to bring order to the universe. Kal-El feels better and leaves. However, it is then revealed that Darkseid only wishes to have Superman attack Earth, so that the military forces would be united to destroy him. Afterwards, Darkseid would take over the decimated world under the guise of restoring order to them. That night, on Earth, the Superman robot picks up a strange signal and starts crashing into things. An alarm awakens Kara but she is unable to control the robot. She flies in after it but is unable to prevent it from reaching its destination: LexCorp Tower. Luthor explains that he's been aware of Superman's absence and wants to know what's going on. He believes that Superman will not return and assures Kara that she can't keep up her charade. Kara refuses to believe him and leaves. Luthor heads off to General Hardcastle and reveals that they have been working on a project to monitor Superman's actions and weaknesses. Together, they'll kill Superman once he gets out of hand. Meanwhile, Kal-El is given a banner bearing his own symbol and sent out after Earth. Kara sees a news report about Superman and a legion of parademons attack a NATO base. Hardcastle and Luthor now feel that they've found the perfect opportunity to kill Superman. Luthor orders Hardcastle to prepare for a final attack while Luthor gets a specialized weapon ready. Superman attacks another military base and easily manages to fight past their defenses but Supergirl eventually shows up and fights him. Superman is outraged at Supergirl wearing his symbol but fighting against him. He pummels her into near-death but Lois arrives and tells him to stop. Superman suddenly remembers everything. However, a Kryptonite missile is fired at Superman and Supergirl seemingly killing both of them. Part II Lois runs up to Superman as soldiers carry him off. Superman is alive and remembers everything now. He had gone to a strange ship letting of a distress beacon but found it was a trap. He was hit and incapacitated by a weapon on the ship and brainwashed by Granny so that he was led to believe Darkseid was his adoptive father. Superman awakens in a cell filled with red light. General Hardcastle enters into the room and explains that the lights nullify Superman's powers and that he's only alive to explain his actions. However, when Superman asks about Supergirl, there is no answer. Superman tries to explain about how Darkseid brainwashed him but no one believes him. Determined to save her friend, Lois uses her father's connections to get into the prison where Superman is being kept. She witnesses Superman try to escape and free Supergirl but he is subsequently captured. Lois decides that she'll have to take things into her own hands. Angered by Superman's actions, Hardcastle agrees with Luthor that both Superman and Supergirl should be executed. Luthor arrives and seeks to inject Kryptonite into Superman in order to kill him. However, Superman fights back and Lois stops Luthor from finishing the job. She and Superman escape from his cell but Superman insists that they save Supergirl before leaving. After finding Supergirl, they discover they have to carry her out due to her weakness to the red sunlight. As they carry her out, Supergirl is shot in the chest and nearly killed. Fortunately, Superman and Lois manage to escape with Supergirl still alive. They take her to S.T.A.R. Labs but Hamilton refuses to help her as it would be considered an act of treason. Superman threatens Hamilton into aiding Supergirl but now realizes that he's lost his friend's trust. Seething with anger, Superman steals a boom tube generator and heads off to Apokolips to "settle things" with Darkseid. On Apokolips, Superman makes his way to Granny's orphanage easily fighting his way through a legion of parademons. After a brief fight with Granny he manages to push her into the brainwashing machine, which has been put up into full power. The machine works on her and her mind is wiped. With Granny out of the way, Superman continues towards Darkseid's palace and is confronted by the Female Furies. He defeats them with relative ease and makes it into Darkseid's palace. Kalibak attacks and loses the fight in seconds. Darkseid rises and starts to shoot Superman with his omega beams but Superman manages to rip out a stone from the floor and use it as a shield. He then starts pummeling Darkseid but soon discovers Darkseid's strength greatly surpasses his own. All the same, Superman keeps up the fight and is nearly defeated. Darkseid beats him down and tries to use his omega beams once more but Superman holds his hands to Darkseid's eyes pushing the energy back into his attacker. While Superman is merely hurt by the attack, Darkseid is severely injured and falls, unable to continue the fight. The commotion within the palace has not gone unnoticed by the slaves of Apaokolis, and when they come to see what is going on, they are shocked when Superman throws Darkseid from the palace walls to the ground. Superman tells them that they are free to do whatever they want to Darkseid. However, much to Superman's surprise, the people aid Darkseid and take him back to his palace. As they carry him away, Darkseid tells Superman the now-famous line, "I am many things, Kal-El. But here, I am God.". Superman tries to go after Darkseid but Kara arrives and talks him out of it. However, back on Earth, nearly everyone refuses to trust Superman with only his closest friends defending him. Superman is also afraid at the prospect of losing control again and feels he can't win back the trust of the planet. However, Lois tells him to do it, "One person at a time." Continuity * Darkseid recalls the events of "Apokolips... Now!, Part II," in which he told Superman, "...if you won't be my knight, you will be my pawn." Likewise, Superman vents his rage at Darkseid for killing Dan Turpin in that episode. * In , "Fearful Symmetry," it is revealed that Professor Hamilton stole a sample of Supergirl's DNA while she was under his care at S.T.A.R. labs, which he used to create Galatea. * Superman's rampage is recalled several times in subsequent series, including , "The Call," , "Twilight," and , "Fearful Symmetry" and "Question Authority." Background Information Production Notes * In part I, when Superman blasts his way through the palace wall of the invaded aliens, the ensuing explosion is reused footage from the scene in which Mr. Eelan blows up a vat of hot led from its support in "My Girl." This is used again later in part II when Granny Goodness's rod blows up. * Likewise, when the Parademons are blasting the aliens in the beginning, there's a full screen frame of a fire cloud, which is reused footage from "Where There's Smoke" when Volcana blasted Superman with a fire ball in the parking lot. This is used again later during Superman's dream when he is blasted by the "real" Superman, then when Supergirl blows up Luthor's control, and finally when the military start bombarding Apokolips's invasion front. It can also be seen in part II during Superman's nightmare, and when Lois shoots Superman's ankle-cuffs, and then various times when the military open fire at Superman, Lois and Supergirl, and finally three more times during the final showdown. * According to Bruce Timm in the episode's , this two-parter was intended to be the premiere for a new season, in which Superman would have to earn back the people's trust. However, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini were asked to work on , so this season premiere became a series finale and its planned storyline played out off-screen in-between and . * Also in the commentary, Bruce Timm stated that Granny Goodness's line "This time I won't leave you wits enough to pick your..." was originally intended to be "This time I won't leave you wits enough to wipe your...". However, Timm had to change it. Trivia * The events of this episode was one of the seminal factors leading to the formation of Project Cadmus in . * This episode is the second time Lois is shown to kiss Superman. She first kissed Superman in "Brave New Metropolis" though this Superman was an alternate version of him. * There are strong similarities between this episode and the comics storyline "Superman: The Dark Side," an alternate-timeline story that has the baby Kal-El's spacecraft being diverted to Apokolips instead of Earth, by Metron. There, Darkseid raises the Kryptonian as his son, and orders him to lead an invasion of Earth when he discovers the Anti-Life Equation hidden there. In particular, Superman's battle armor in this episode is markedly similar to his Apokoliptan battle suit in the comic. Cast Quotes Category:Superman: The Animated Series episodes